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• Anthony Kennedy is an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court. Appointed by Ronald Reagan in 1988, Kennedy was seen as a centrist justice on the court during most of his career, providing the "swing vote" along with Sandra Day O'Connor. Since serving on the Roberts court, Kennedy has tended to vote with the Supreme Court's conservative majority.

• Fast Facts

  1. Born July 23, 1936 in Sacramento, California
  2. Assumed office on February 18, 1988
  3. Nominated by President Ronald Reagan
  4. Preceded by: Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr.
  5. Spouse: Mary Davis Kennedy
  6. Religion: Catholic
  7. Alma Mater: Stanford University
  8. "Swing" vote between conservative and liberal Justices

• Career before Supreme Court

  Kennedy received his B.A. from Stanford University before earning an LL.B from Harvard University law school. He served as a professor of Constitutional law at the University of the Pacific from 1965-1988 and was appointed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1975.

• "Swing Vote"

  For most of his tenure on the Supreme Court, Kennedy has been considered a "swing vote" on the court, moving between the conservative and liberal wings of the court on issues such as abortion, civil liberties, the death penalty and other issues. Because of his voting history, Kennedy's judicial philosophy is seen as a mix of conservative and libertarian.

• Related Mahalo Pages

  The U.S. Supreme Court | John Roberts | John Paul Stevens | Stephen Breyer | Antonin Scalia | Ruth Bader Ginsburg | David Souter | Clarence Thomas | Samuel Alito | Bill Clinton | David Souter Retirement | Sonia Sotomayor

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